Method and apparatus for charging a battery

ABSTRACT

A method is provided comprising: detecting a connection between an electronic device and a battery charger; transmitting to the battery charger a first request for at least one of a first voltage level and a first current level; receiving from the battery charger a signal; and charging a battery of the electronic device with the signal.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) of a Koreanpatent application filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office onDec. 23, 2013 and assigned Serial No. 10-2013-0161661, the entiredisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is related to electronic devices, and moreparticularly to a method and apparatus for charging a battery.

BACKGROUND

With the development of electronics communication industries in recentyears, an electronic device such as a cellular phone, an electronicsorganizer, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or the like, has becomenecessities of modern life as an important means for deliveringinformation which changes rapidly.

There is a growing user's demand for the electronic device as theelectronic device is popularized. The electronic device uses a batteryas a power source, and a battery consumption amount is increased sincethe introduction of a smart electronic device causes an increase in theuse of the Internet, applications, or the like, a display size isincreased, and a Central Processing Unit (CPU) is improved in itsresolution and performance. A high capacity battery is produced to copewith such a situation, and there is a growing interest on a quick chargeof the high capacity battery.

At present, lithium-ion batteries are charged on the basis of a ConstantCurrent (CC)-Constant Voltage (CV) charging scheme. However, this schememay have several drawbacks. For example, using this scheme may requirethe use of high capacity charges when a quick charge is desired. This inturn could lead to increased power losses due to heat and unstablevoltage levels. For example, when a Travel Adapter (TA) is used as apower input device, high rated current is required to acquire a highrated capacity as the standard TA uses a 5V as a standard fixed voltage.High rated current could lead to increased power losses and also to areduced input power for charging the electronic device.

Accordingly, a need exists for new techniques for charging electronicdevices.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the disclosure, a method is providedcomprising: detecting a connection between an electronic device and abattery charger; transmitting to the battery charger a first request forat least one of a first voltage level and a first current level;receiving from the battery charger a signal; and charging a battery ofthe electronic device with the signal.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, a method is providedcomprising: detecting a connection between an electronic device and abattery charger; receiving from the electronic device a first requestfor a first signal characteristic; detecting whether the battery chargeris capable of outputting a signal having the first signalcharacteristic; and in response to detecting that the battery charger iscapable of outputting the signal having the first signal characteristic,outputting the signal to the electronic device.

According to yet another aspect of the disclosure, an electronic deviceis provided comprising a processing circuitry configured to: detect aconnection with a battery charger; transmit to the battery charger afirst request for at least one of a first voltage level and a firstcurrent level; receive from the battery charger a signal; and charge abattery with the signal.

According to yet another aspect of the disclosure, a battery charger isprovided comprising processing circuitry configured to: detect aconnection with an electronic device; receive from the electronic devicea first request for a first signal characteristic; detect whether thebattery charger is capable of outputting a signal having the firstsignal characteristic; and in response to detecting that the batterycharger is capable of outputting the signal having the first signalcharacteristic, output the signal to the electronic device.

According to yet another aspect the disclosure, a charging method of anelectronic device is provided. The method includes confirming whether apower supplier is connected, if the power supplier is connected,negotiating a voltage-current pair corresponding to a rated power byusing a quick charge interface, and starting charging by using thenegotiated voltage-current pair.

According to yet another aspect of the disclosure, a charging method ofa power supplier is provided. The method includes detecting whether anelectronic device is inserted, if the electronic device is inserted,negotiating a voltage-current pair corresponding to a rated power byusing a quick charge interface, and supplying the negotiatedvoltage-current pair to the electronic device.

According to yet another aspect of the disclosure, a charging apparatusof an electronic device is provided. The apparatus includes a UniversalSerial Bus (USB) controller configured for confirming whether a powersupplier is connected, if the power supplier is connected, negotiating avoltage-current pair corresponding to a rated power by using a quickcharge interface, and starting charging by using the negotiatedvoltage-current pair.

According to yet another aspect of the disclosure, a charging apparatusof a power supplier is provided. The apparatus includes a USB controllerconfigured for detecting whether an electronic device is inserted, ifthe electronic device is inserted, negotiating a voltage-current paircorresponding to a rated power by using a quick charge interface, andsupplying the negotiated voltage-current pair to the electronic device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain aspectsof the disclosure will be more apparent from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of an example of a system, according toaspects of the disclosure;

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of another example of a system, accordingto aspects of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of the electronic device,according to aspects of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a connection between anelectronic device charging unit and a charging device;

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B illustrate different examples of integrating aprotection circuit in the charging circuit of FIG. 2, according toaspects of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a clock synchronizationhandshake, according to aspects of the disclosure;

FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are diagrams illustrating an example of a datatransmission process, according to aspects of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data transmissionprocess, according to aspects of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a process, according to aspects of thedisclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a process, according to aspects of thedisclosure;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a process, according to aspects of thedisclosure; and

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a process, according to aspects of thedisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of an example of a system, according toaspects of the disclosure. In this example, an electronic device 100 maybe connected to a charger 110 via a USB cable. The charger 110 may beany suitable type of charger, such as the Travel Adapter (TA). Theelectronic device 100 may include a USB socket (not shown) that isphysically connected, via a USB cable, to another USB socket on thecharger 110. Although in this example, the charger 110 includes a USBsocket, in other examples the USB cable can be directly soldered to thecharger 110 thereby bypassing the need for a USB socket. In operation,upon receiving an Alternating Current (AC) signal (e.g., 220V or 110V)from a wall outlet, the charger 110 may convert the received AC signalinto a Direct Current (DC) signal and feed the DC signal to theelectronic device 100.

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of another example of a system, accordingto aspects of the disclosure. In this example, the electronic device 100is connected to a computer 120. When an AC signal is input to thecomputer 120, a Switching Mode Power Supply (SMPS, not shown) that ispart of the computer 120 converts the AC signal to DC signal. The DCsignal may then be fed to the electronic device via a USB port and/orany other suitable type of interface.

In some implementations, the charger 110 or the computer 120 may supporta battery charger communication protocol. The battery chargercommunication protocol may be used to negotiate a voltage and/or currentlevels between the charger 110 (or the computer 120) and electronicdevice 100.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of the electronic device 100,according to aspects of the disclosure. According to this example, theelectronic device 100 may include at least one of a smart phone, atablet Personal Computer (PC), a mobile phone, a video phone, an e-bookreader, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a Portable Multimedia Player(PMP), a MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 (MP3) player, a mobile medical device, acamera, and a wearable device (e.g., a Head-Mounted-Device (HMD) such aselectronic glasses, electronic clothes, an electronic bracelet, anelectronic necklace, an electronic appcessory, an electronic tattoo, ora smart watch).

The electronic device 100 may include an Application Processor (AP) 201,a Communication Processor (CP) 202, a memory 203, a speaker 204, amicrophone 205, a camera 206, a display 207, a touch panel 208, a PowerManager Integrated Circuit (PMIC) 209, a battery 211, a cellular antenna212, a Front End Module (FEM) 213, a Wireless Connectivity (WC) antenna214, a short distance communication unit 215, a Radio FrequencyIntegrated Circuit (RFIC) 216, and a charging unit 217.

The AP 210 may include any suitable type of processing circuitry, suchas a general purpose processor (e.g., an ARM-based processor, anx86-based processor, a MIPS-based processor, etc.), a Field-ProgrammableGate Array (FPGA), and an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit(ASIC). In some implementations, the AP 201 may support an arithmeticprocessing function, a content reproduction function of various formats(e.g., an audio, image, video, or the like), a graphic engine, or thelike. The AP 201 may execute an Operating System (OS), variousfunctions, or the like. In some implementations, the AP 201 may beconstructed with one chip on which a great number of components. Thecomponent may include a logic core, a memory, a displaysystem/controller, a multimedia encoding/decoding codec, a 2D/3Daccelerator engine, an Image Signal Processor (ISP), a camera, an audiomodem, a variety of high & low speed serial/parallel connectivityinterfaces, or the like. In some implementations, the AP 201 may beimplemented as a System-On-Chip (SOC).

The CP 202 enables voice communication and/or data communication, andmay compress voice data and image data or may decompress the compresseddata. The CP 202 may include a baseband modem, a Baseband Processor(BP), or the like. The CP 202 may be designed to operate by using one ofa Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) network, an Enhanced DataGSM Environment (EDGE) network, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)network, a W-Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) network, a Long TermEvolution (LTE) network, an Orthogonal Frequency Division MultipleAccess (OFDMA) network, a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) network, a WiMaxnetwork, and a Bluetooth network.

Although not shown, the electronic device 100 may include a graphicprocessor or an audio processor. The graphic processor may perform imageinformation processing, acceleration, signal conversion, screen output,or the like. The audio processor may perform any suitable type of audioprocessing.

The memory 203 may include any suitable type of volatile and/ornon-volatile memory. In some implementations, the memory 203 may storeprocessor executable instructions implementing, at least in part, theprocess discussed with respect to FIG. 10.

The speaker 204 may convert an electric signal into a sound of anaudible frequency band and then may output the converted signal. Themicrophone 205 may convert a sound wave delivered from human or othersound sources into an electric signal.

The camera 206 may convert a light beam reflected from a subject ofphotography into an electric signal. The camera 206 may include aCharged Coupled Device (CCD), a Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor(CMOS), or the like.

The display 207 may output an electric signal as visual information(e.g., text, graphic, video, or the like). The display 207 may be one ofan Electro Wetting Display (EWD), an E-Paper, a Plasma Display Panel(PDP), a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), an Organic Light Emitting Diode(OLED), and an Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diodes (AMOLED).

The touch panel 208 may receive a touch input. The touch panel may beone of a digitizer for a stylus pen, a capacitive overlap touch panel, aresistance overlap touch panel, a surface acoustic wave touch panel, andan infrared beam touch panel.

The PMIC 209 may regulate a power from the battery 211. For example, theAP 201 may transmit information to the PMIC 209 with a load to beprocessed. The PMIC 209 may regulate a core voltage to be supplied tothe AP 201 by using the information provided from the AP 201.

The FEM 213 may be a transmission/reception device capable ofcontrolling a radio signal. The FEM 213 may connect the cellular antenna212 and the RFIC 216, and may separate a transmission/reception signal.The FEM 213 may take a role of filtering and amplification, and mayinclude a receiving-side front end module including a filter forfiltering a reception signal and a transmitting-side front end moduleincluding a Power Amplifier Module (PAM) for amplifying a transmissionsignal.

The short distance communication unit 215 may be implemented byincluding various communication functions not processed by theprocessors 201 and 202, for example, WiFi, Bluetooth, Near FieldCommunication (NFC), Universal Serial Bus (USB), or Global PositioningSystem (GPS).

The RFIC (e.g., RF transceiver) 216 may receive a radio frequency from abase station, and may modulate a received high frequency band into a lowfrequency band (i.e., a baseband) that may be processed in a module(e.g., the CP 202).

The charging unit 217 may charge the battery 211. In someimplementations, the charging unit 217 may generate a signal forcharging the battery 211. In some implementations, the charging unit 217may regulate (or otherwise adjust) voltage or current that is fed to thebattery. Additionally or alternatively, the charging unit 217 mayperform a constant current charging operation and a constant voltagecharging operation. The charging unit 217 may include an external portthat can be electrically connected to an external device, e.g., a TA(travel adapter) or a computer. The charging unit 217 is discussedfurther below with respect to FIG. 3.

The external port may be a USB port having a quick charge interfacefunction.

The quick charge interface operates via USB ports and a cable ingeneral, and may be limited to a standard-A USB port of a TA connectedto a micro-B or micro-AB USB socket (i.e., receptacle). In addition, aUSB charger may be a device having a Dedicated Charging Port (DCP) ingeneral.

When the DCP is detected, quick charge detection is complete. If it isdetermined that a quick charge communication link is possible,communication for the quick charge may start. If the communication linkis disconnected at any time, ports at both sides may be restored totheir default values.

The quick charge interface may be constructed of a physical layer whichallows bytes to be delivered in both directions through a D-pin. Amulti-byte may be transmitted or received by using the physical layer. Aparity may ensure an error detection in traffic.

In various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, a device oftransmitting traffic may be called a master which is an electronicdevice to be charged in general, and a device of receiving traffic isgenerally called a slave which is a TA in general.

The quick charge protocol layer has one byte defined for a voltage andcurrent transmitted from a master device. If a special voltage andcurrent can be delivered, a slave TA returns the same byte in response.If the special voltage and current cannot be delivered, all possiblevoltage-current sets of the TA may be transmitted so that the electronicdevice can select a suitable voltage and current.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a connection between thecharging unit 217 and a charging device, according to aspects of thedisclosure. In this example, the charging device includes the charger110, but in other implementations, the charging device may include thecomputer 120 and/or any other suitable type of battery charger.

As illustrated, the charger 110 may include an AC power input unit 300,an AC/DC converting unit 310, a quick charge interface unit 320, and acommunication port 330. In operation, the input unit 300 may receive anAC signal from a power outlet and feed the AC signal to the AC/DCconverting unit 310. The AC/DC converting unit 310 may convert the ACsignal to a DC signal. The AC/DC converting unit 310 may then feed theDC signal to the quick charge interface unit 320.

In some implementations, a characteristic of the DC signal may bedetermined as a result of a communication that is executed between thecharger 110 and the electronic device 100. The characteristic mayinclude voltage, current level, and/or any other suitable type ofcharacteristic.

In some implementations, the electronic device 100 may select thevoltage and/or current level from a predetermined set of avoltage-current pairs. For example, the set may include the followingpairs: 5[V]-2.5[A], 9[V]-1.67[A], and 12[V]-1.25[A]. It is to beunderstood that the set is not limited to any specific voltage and/orcurrent values. It is further to be understood that the set can includeany number of voltage-current pairs.

In some implementations, the quick charge interface 320 may select oneof the voltage-current pairs in the set (e.g., 5[V]-2.5[A],9[V]-1.67[A], and 12[V]-1.25[A]) and then output an indication of theselected voltage-current pair to the charging unit 217. The indicationcan be transmitted via a USB interface with the charging unit 217.

The USB interface may include 4 lines: a V_(BUS) line 341, a D− line342, a D+ line 343, and a GND line 344. The USB voltage may be suppliedto the electronic device 100 via the V_(BUS) line 341 and the GND line344 under the control of a USB controller 325. For example, the GND line344 may be connected to the ground (GND) of the charging unit. The D−line 342 may be used for exchanging data between the electronic device100 and the charger 110. The D+ line 343 may be used for transmitting asignal indicating whether the electronic device 100 and the charger 110are connected.

In some implementations, the USB controller 325 may operate a switch Sa1321 so that the D− line 342 and the D+ line 343 can be shorted whennecessary. Additionally or alternative, the USB controller 325 maycontrol a switch Sa2 322 to receive a ping signal for a quick charge viathe D− node 342.

The charging unit 217 may include a communication port 350, aquick-charge interface unit 360, and a charging circuit 370. Thecommunication port 350 may be a USB port and/or any other suitable typeof port. The quick charge interface unit 360 may include a controller365, and switches 361-363. In operation, the controller 360 may exchangecommunications with the charger 110, as discussed with respect to FIGS.10-11. The USB controller may further control switches Sm2 362 and Sm3363 when necessary, in order to prevent/enable the flow of data receivedover the D− line 342 and the D+ line 343 to the application processor211. In addition, the controller may supply a signal received over theVbus line 341 to the charging circuit 370. The charging circuit 370 maygenerate one of fixed-voltage and fixed-current signal based on thereceived signal and feed the generated signal to the battery 211.

According to aspects of the disclosure, in order to prevent anovervoltage or overcurrent from flowing into the charging circuit 370, aprotection circuit 400 may be connected in front of the charging circuit370. For example, the protection circuit may be an Over VoltageProtection (OVP). According to aspects of the disclosure, the OVP may beimplemented with a switching capacitor. As shown in FIG. 4A, theprotection circuit 400 may be situated between the quick chargeinterface unit and the charging circuit 370. Additionally oralternatively, as shown in FIG. 4B, the protection circuit 400 may bedisposed between the communication port 350 and the quick interfacecircuit 360.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a clock synchronizationhandshake, according to aspects of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 5,a master (e.g., the electronic device 100) may start communication viathe D− line by transmitting a master ping to a slave (e.g., the charger110). The ping may be transmitted by setting the D− line to “HIGH” forduration t_(PMST) (see 500). The slave device may respond with a slaveping. The slave ping may be transmitted by setting the D− line to “HIGH”for duration t_(PSLV) (see 510). In some implementations, the master maytransmit 5 pings without a slave response before the entire pingsequence is re-attempted. Additionally or alternatively, in someimplementations, before an error flag is raised, the ping sequence maybe attempted up to 3 times. After the exchange of master and slave pingsis completed, pulses 530 (which may have ¼ of the duration of the masterand/or slave pings) may be used to indicate a start of a packet, anidentification of byte transmission, and an end of the packet.

Although, in this example the electronic device being charged acts as amaster and the charger used to charge the electronic device is a slave,in other examples, the charger may operate as a master while theelectronic device is the slave. Furthermore, the handshake between themaster and slave devices may include any suitable number of pings and/ornumber of attempts.

As a result of the above handshake, the master and slave devices maysynchronize their clocks and begin an exchange of data. This may beperformed using initial ping pulses which start quick chargecommunication.

More particularly, t_(MREG) is a duration in which the master requestspossession of the D− line a (which operates as a bus) when necessaryafter the exchange of master and slave pings is completed. After themaster has gained possession of the D− line, the master may startplacing data on it. The data may be transmitted in bytes followed by aparity bit.

In addition, in various exemplary embodiments, instead of the electronicdevice, the TA or the computer may serve as the master to startcommunication by transmitting a master ping including “HIGH” duringt_(PMST).

FIGS. 6A-B are diagrams illustrating an example of a data transmissionprocess, according to aspects of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 6A, abyte ‘10101010’ 601 and 602 and a parity bit 603 may be delivered fromthe electronic device 100 to the charger 110 via the D− line. In someimplementations, the four most significant bits (MSB) 601 of the bytemay represent a current level. The four least significant bits (LSB) 602of the byte may represent a voltage level. Bit 603 may be a parity bit.FIG. 6B depicts another example of a byte used to specify voltage andcurrent levels for a charging signal. As illustrated, the byte includesMSB 611, LSB 612, and is followed by a parity bit 613.

Tables 1 and 2 below, illustrate an example of a mapping betweendifferent byte values and corresponding voltage/current levels. A datastructure representing at least one of tables 1 and 2 may be stored in amemory of the charging device. In some implementations, the chargingdevice may use the data structure to determine whether a requestedvoltage and/or current level is supported by the charging device.

TABLE 1 Voltage Level MSB(Most Signification Four Bits) hex 5 0000 0 60001 1 7 0010 2 8 0011 3 9 0100 4 10 0101 5 11 0110 6 12 0111 7 13 10008 14 1001 9 15 1010 A 16 1011 B 17 1100 C 18 1101 D 19 1110 E 20 1111 F

TABLE 2 Current Level LSB(Least Significant Four Bits) hex 0.75 0000 00.90 0001 1 1.05 0010 2 1.20 0011 3 1.35 0100 4 1.50 0101 5 1.65 0110 61.80 0111 7 1.95 1000 8 2.10 1001 9 2.25 1010 A 2.40 1011 B 2.55 1100 C2.70 1011 D 2.85 1101 E 3.00 1111 F

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data transmissionprocess, according to aspects of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 7,every data transmission consisting of one or more bytes is divided mayinclude transmitting a parity bit for each of the bytes and asynchronization pulse.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a process, according to aspects of thedisclosure. In step 800, the electronic device may detect whether apower supply (e.g., charger 110 or computer 120) is connected to theelectronic device. In step 802, if the power supply is connected, theelectronic device may negotiate with the power supply the current and/orvoltage levels of a power signal that is to be supplied by the powersupply to the electronic device. If the power supplier is connected, ina state where the switches Sm1 361 to Sm3 363 are open, the switch Sm1361 may maintain a close state, the switches Sm2 362 and Sm3 363 maymaintain an open state, and a voltage V_(DP) _(_) _(SRC (e.g.,) 0.6V)may be supplied to the V_(BUS) node 330.

In step 804, the power supply may start feeding the negotiated powersignal to the electronic device.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a process, according to aspects of thedisclosure. In step 900, a power supply detects whether the power supplyis connected to an electronic device. The connection with the electronicdevice may be detected based on a change in the state of the D+ line343. For example, a specific voltage may be placed on the D+ node 343when the electronic device and the power supply are connected. In step902, the power supply may negotiate with the electronic device thevoltage and/or current levels of a power signal that is to be providedto the electronic device. In step 904, the power supply may beginfeeding a power signal to the electronic device. The power signal mayhave the voltage and/or current levels that were negotiated at step 902.

Additionally, in some implementation, the electronic device may detectwhether it has become disconnected from the power supply according tothe state of the V_(BUS) 341. Optionally, the electronic device maydetect a presence/absence of 60 kΩ of the Sa2 323 between pings during aping interval (i.e., t_(PING)). The power supplier may determine whetherthe cable is separated according to a presence/absence of HIGH ofV_(DP-SRC) or D+. Optionally, the power supplier may detect apresence/absence of a master ping of the electronic device.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a process, according to aspects of thedisclosure. In step 1002, the electronic device may transmit to a powersupply (e.g., a battery charger) a clock synchronization signal (e.g.,master ping pulses) to start quick charge communication. In step 1002,the electronic device may receive from the power a response signal(e.g., slave ping pulses) (see FIG. 5). In step 1004, the electronicdevice may transmit to the power supply an indication of at least one of(i) a desired voltage level and (ii) a desired current level (see FIG.6). For example, the electronic device may transmit to the power supplya byte in which the four most significant bits specify the desiredcurrent level and the four least significant bits specify the desiredvoltage level (see Table 1 and Table 2 above).

In operation 1006, the electronic device determines a type of responsethat is received in response to the indication transmitted at operation1004.

In step 1008, if it is determined in step 1006 that an acknowledgment isreceived the electronic device may start charging its battery using apower signal supplied by the power supply. As discussed above, thesupplied signal may have the desired current and/or voltage levelsspecified in operation 1004. Thus, in some implementations, receivingthe acknowledgment may indicate that the power supply supports therequested voltage and/or current levels. Additionally or alternatively,in some implementations, the acknowledgment may include a slave pingfollowed by an echo of the request transmitted in step 1004.

Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations, the power supplymay wait to receive the same voltage and/or current level request 3consecutive times before outputting the requested signal. This may be toprevent the power supply from outputting a signal having too highvoltage and/or current levels as a result of an unexpected double parityor another type of bit error.

In step 1012, if it is determined in step 1006 that a Not Acknowledgenack (NACK) is received, the electronic device may re-attempt thevoltage-current request in step 1012. The NACK may be transmitted by thepower supply, when a parity error occurs. The NACK may include a slaveping that is not followed by an echo of the request transmitted in step1004.

When the requested voltage and/or current levels are not supported, theelectronic device may receive from the power supply at least one of (i)a first indication of voltage levels that are supported by the powersupply and (ii) a second indication of current levels that are supportedby the power supply. In some implementations, the first indication mayinclude some (or all of the mappings identified in Table 1 (e.g., thefirst two columns of Table 1). In some implementations, the firstindication and/or the second indication may form a voltage-current list.In some implementations, the voltage-current list may be performedthrough multi-data transmission as shown in FIG. 7.

In step 1016, the electronic device may select a voltage and/or currentlevel that is identified as being supported by the terminal. Theselection may be made based on at least one of the first indication ofthe voltage levels that are supported by the power supply and the secondindication of the current levels that are supported by the power supply.Next, the electronic device may transmit to the power supply anindication of at least one of the selected voltage level and theselected current level. Finally, as discussed above, the power supplymay begin feeding to the electronic device a signal having the voltageand/or current levels identified at step 1016.

More specifically, in some implementations, the electronic device mayreceive from the power supply a list of supported voltage levels and/orsupported current levels. Each supported voltage level may be associatedwith a corresponding code. Each supported current level may also beassociated with a corresponding code (e.g., see Table 1 and Table 2).Next, the electronic device may select one of the supported voltagelevels and/or one of the supported voltage level. Next, the electronicdevice may extract the code(s) corresponding to the selected voltagelevel and/or supported current level. Next, the electronic device mayinsert the code(s) into a request for a power signal and transmit thepower signal to the power supply. Although in this example, the listidentifies the supported voltage level and the supported current levelsindependently from one another, in some implementations, the list mayidentify various pairs, wherein each pair includes a supported voltagelevel and a supported current level (e.g., [V]-2.5 [A], 9[V]-1.67[A],and 12 [V]-1.25 [A]).

For example, the electronic device may desire to charge a battery with14V/1.5 A. Accordingly, the electronic device may transmit a requestcontaining the byte ‘10010101’ (i.e. a hexadecimal of 95). If the powersupply supports only 12V/1.2 and 5V/3 A, upon receiving ‘10010101’(i.e., a hexadecimal of 95) from the electronic device, the power supplymay send ‘hOF(hex)’ and ‘h73(hex)’ in response thereto. The electronicdevice may recognize that a request thereof is not supported, and maysend a value ‘h73(hex)’ three consecutive times. Likewise, the powersupply may transmit ‘h73(hex)’ three times as an echo, and may modify avoltage after the 3^(rd) transmission.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a process according to aspects of thedisclosure. In step 1100, a power supply may receive, from an electronicdevice, a clock synchronization signal (e.g., master ping pulses). Inoperation 1102, the power supply may transmit, to the electronic device,a response to the clock synchronization signal (e.g., slave ping pulses)(see FIG. 5) in step 1102. In step 1104, the power supply may determinewhether a request for a desired voltage and/or current level is receivedfrom the electronic device. In step 1106, the electronic device maydetermine whether the requested voltage and/or current level issupported by the electronic device. In operation 1108, if the powersupply is capable of providing the requested voltage and/or currentlevel, the power supply may transmit an echo of the request back to theelectronic device. Afterwards, in operation 1110, the power supply maybegin feeding to the electronic device a signal having the requestedvoltage and/or power levels.

Otherwise, if it is determined in step 1106 that the power supply isunable to provide the requested voltage and/or current levels, theprocess proceeds to step 1112. In step 1112, the power supply maytransmit to the electronic device at least one of at least one of (i) afirst indication of voltage levels that are supported by the powersupply and (ii) a second indication of current levels that are supportedby the power supply. In some implementations, the first indication mayinclude some (or all of the mappings identified in Table 1 (e.g., thefirst two columns of Table 1). In some implementations, the firstindication and/or the second indication may form a voltage-current list.Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations the list mayidentify a plurality of pairs, wherein each pair includes a supportedvoltage level and a supported current level (e.g., [V]-2.5[A],9[V]-1.67[A], and 12[V]-1.25[A]).

FIGS. 1-11 are provided as an example only. At least some of the stepsdiscussed with respect to these figures can be performed concurrently,performed in a different order, and/or altogether omitted. It will beunderstood that the provision of the examples described herein, as wellas clauses phrased as “such as,” “e.g.”, “including”, “in some aspects,”“in some implementations,” and the like should not be interpreted aslimiting the claimed subject matter to the specific examples.

As used throughout the disclosure, the term battery charger may refer toany suitable device capable of charging a battery, including, but notlimited to, a travel adapter, a laptop, and/or another device having aparticular interface over which data and/or power can be transmitted(e.g., a USB interface). As used throughout the disclosure, the term“processing circuitry” may refer to a processor, an interface controller(e.g., a USB controller), and or any other type of (integrated) circuitthat may be part of the electronic device. Additionally oralternatively, as used throughout the disclosure, the term “processingcircuitry” may refer to any combination of two or more of: (i) theprocessor, (ii) the interface controller (e.g., a USB controller), and(iii) any other type of (integrated) circuit that may be part of theelectronic device.

Embodiments of the disclosure include a charging method of an electronicdevice. The method comprises confirming whether a power supplier isconnected, if the power supplier is connected, negotiating avoltage-current pair corresponding to a rated power by using a quickcharge interface, and starting charging by using the negotiatedvoltage-current pair. The method may further comprise if the requestedvoltage-current is not supported, receiving a list for a possiblevoltage-current pair, selecting one voltage-current pair from the list,and requesting the selected voltage-current pair at least one time. Themethod may further comprise if the echo is received for the at least onerequest, determining the requested voltage-current pair as thevoltage-current for the charge, and if the echo is not received for theat least one request, re-requesting the voltage-current pair for thequick charge at least one time during a clock synchronization period.

Here, The negotiating of the voltage-current pair corresponding to therated power by using the quick charge interface comprises transmitting aclock synchronization signal, receiving a response signal for the clocksynchronization signal, requesting the voltage-current pair for a quickcharge at least one time, after the clock synchronization; and if anecho is received in response to the at least one request, determiningthe requested voltage-current pair as a voltage-current for thecharging. If the echo is not received in response to the at least onerequest, re-requesting the voltage-current pair for the quick charge atleast one time during a clock synchronization period.

Embodiments of the disclosure include a charging apparatus of a powersupplier. The apparatus comprising a USB controller is configured fordetecting whether an electronic device is inserted, if the electronicdevice is inserted, negotiating a voltage-current pair corresponding toa rated power by using a quick charge interface, and supplying thenegotiated voltage-current pair to the electronic device. The USBcontroller is configured for receiving a clock synchronization signal,transmitting a response signal for the clock synchronization signal,receiving the voltage-current pair for a quick charge at least one time,after the clock synchronization, and if a parity error exists as to theat least one request, receiving a re-request for the voltage-currentpair for the quick charge at least one time during a clocksynchronization period. The USB controller is configured for, if theparity error does not exist as to the at least one request, confirmingwhether the request voltage-current can be supported, and if therequested voltage-current pair can be supported, transmitting an echo asto the requested voltage-current pair at least one time. The USBcontroller is configured for, if the request voltage-current cannot besupported, transmitting a list for a possible voltage-current pair. Thefunction of the quick charge interface is performed on the basis of aUSB port.

The above-described aspects of the present disclosure can be implementedin hardware, firmware or via the execution of software or computer codethat can be stored in a recording medium such as a CD ROM, a DigitalVersatile Disc (DVD), a magnetic tape, a RAM, a floppy disk, a harddisk, or a magneto-optical disk or computer code downloaded over anetwork originally stored on a remote recording medium or anon-transitory machine-readable medium and to be stored on a localrecording medium, so that the methods described herein can be renderedvia such software that is stored on the recording medium using a generalpurpose computer, or a special processor or in programmable or dedicatedhardware, such as an ASIC or FPGA. As would be understood in the art,the computer, the processor, microprocessor controller or theprogrammable hardware include memory components, e.g., RAM, ROM, Flash,etc. that may store or receive software or computer code that whenaccessed and executed by the computer, processor or hardware implementthe processing methods described herein. In addition, it would berecognized that when a general purpose computer accesses code forimplementing the processing shown herein, the execution of the codetransforms the general purpose computer into a special purpose computerfor executing the processing shown herein. Any of the functions andsteps provided in the Figures may be implemented in hardware, softwareor a combination of both and may be performed in whole or in part withinthe programmed instructions of a computer. No claim element herein is tobe construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph,unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for”.

While the present disclosure has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to the examples provided therein, it will be understoodby those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details maybe made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method in an electronic device, comprising:detecting a connection with a battery charger; and transmitting to thebattery charger a first request for at least one of a first voltagelevel and a first current level, wherein the at least one of the firstvoltage and the first current level are represented by a code; receivingfrom the battery charger a signal, wherein: when the signal from thebattery charger is the code representing at least one of the firstvoltage level and the first current level, charging the battery usingthe at least one of the first voltage and the first current, when thesignal from the battery charger is a list of supported signalcharacteristics, transmitting a second request for a second voltagelevel and a second current level, that are different from the at leastone of the first voltage level and the first current level in responseto receiving an echo signal, charging the battery using at least one ofthe second voltage level and second current level, and when the signalfrom the battery charger is a NACK (Not Acknowledge), transmitting tothe battery charger another request for the at least one of the firstvoltage level and the first current level, in response to receiving anecho signal, charging the battery based on the results of the anotherrequest.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving from thebattery charger the signal comprising: wherein when the signal is thelist of supported signal characteristics, the method further comprises:identifying at least one of (i) a first plurality of voltage levels thatthe battery charger is capable of providing and (ii) a second pluralityof current levels that the battery charger is capable of providing,wherein the second request is generated, based on the list, wherein thesecond voltage level is one of the first plurality of voltage level andthe second current level is one of the second plurality of currentlevels.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the list of supported signalcharacteristics includes a plurality of codes corresponding to the firstplurality of voltage levels and wherein transmitting the second requestincludes retrieving from the list a code corresponding to the secondvoltage level and inserting the code into the second request.
 4. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the list of supported signal characteristicsincludes a plurality of codes corresponding to the second plurality ofcurrent levels, and wherein the second request includes retrieving fromthe list a code corresponding to the second current level and insertingthe code into the second request.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein theat least one of the first voltage level and the first current levelincludes the first voltage level and the first current level, andwherein the first voltage level and the first current level arerepresented by a single byte.
 6. An electronic device comprising: abattery; a charging interface; and a processing circuitry configured to:detect a connection with a battery charger through the charginginterface; transmit to the battery charger a first request for at leastone of a first voltage level and a first current level through thecharging interface; receive from the battery charger a signal throughthe charging interface, wherein: when the signal from the batterycharger is a duplicate of the first request, charging the battery usingthe first voltage and the first current, when the signal from thebattery charger is a list of supported signal characteristics,transmitting a second request for a second voltage level and a secondcurrent level that are different from the first voltage level and thefirst current level, and when the signal from the battery charger is aNACK (Not Acknowledge), transmitting to the battery charger anotherrequest for the first voltage level and the first current level.
 7. Theelectronic device of claim 6, wherein the processing circuitry isconfigured to: wherein when the signal is the list of supported signalcharacteristics, the processing circuitry further configured to:identify at least one of (i) a first plurality of voltage levels thatthe battery charger is capable of providing and (ii)a second pluralityof current levels that the battery charger is capable of providing,wherein the second request is generated, based on the list of supportedsignal characteristics, wherein the second voltage level is one of thefirst plurality of voltage levels and the second current level is one ofthe second plurality of current levels.
 8. The electronic device ofclaim 7, wherein the list of supported signal characteristics includes aplurality of codes corresponding to the first plurality of voltagelevels, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to retrievefrom the list a code corresponding to the second voltage level andinserting the code into the second request.
 9. The electronic device ofclaim 7, wherein the list of supported signal characteristics includes aplurality of codes corresponding to the second plurality of currentlevels and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to retrievefrom the list a code corresponding to the second current level andinserting the code into the second request.
 10. A battery chargercomprising: a charging interface; and a processing circuitry configuredto: detect a connection with an electronic device through the charginginterface; receive from the electronic device a first request for atleast one of a first voltage level and a first current level through thecharging interface; detect whether the battery charger is capable ofproviding a power based on the at least one of the first voltage leveland the first current level; transmit a signal indicating whether thebattery charger is capable of providing the power, wherein the signal iseither an echo of the first request, a list of supported signalcharacteristics, or NACK(Not Acknowledge); and in response to detectingthat the battery charger is not capable of providing the power based onthe at least one of the first voltage level and the first current level,transmit to the electronic device the list of supported signalcharacteristics, wherein the list of the supported signalcharacteristics comprises a plurality of supportable voltage levels anda plurality of supportable current levels and charge the battery with atleast one of the plurality of supportable voltage levels and theplurality of supportable current levels.
 11. The battery charger ofclaim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:extract, from the first request, a code corresponding to the firstvoltage level; and compare the code against a data structure identifyinga plurality of voltage levels that are supported by the battery charger,wherein the data structure is stored in a memory of the battery charger.12. The battery charger of claim 10, wherein the list further comprisesa second plurality of codes corresponding to the plurality ofsupportable voltage levels, wherein each one of the plurality ofplurality of supportable voltage levels is mapped to a different one ofthe second plurality of codes.